1-Day Motorboat Tour: Floating Villages & Tonle Sap Lake

Begin your adventure with a deep dive into Cambodia’s rich history and culture. Our guide will meet you at your hotel for a morning pick-up at your desired pickup time between 08:00 and 10:00am (let us know in the details during the booking process). Choose a maximum of three options of a variety of activities to enhance your experience filling it with history, culture, and natural beauty, tailored to your interests and preferences:

• Learn about a tragic part of Khmer history at Wat Thmey Killing Fields and the Apopo Visitor Center, where you can meet the heroic landmine rats. (Entrance fee for Apopo: 10 USD per person, Wat Thmey: 3 USD per person).
• Immerse yourself in the Artisan d’Angkor Gallery, a social project that showcases incredible local artworks and handcrafts.
• Capture the serene beauty of a rice paddy field, a perfect spot for photography and connecting with the natural landscape.
• Explore a local fishing village and its vibrant market, offering a glimpse into the everyday life of Cambodians in rural areas.
• Combine your experience with a Siem Reap City Tour, where you’ll visit some iconic sights such as the oldest and most significant Buddhist temples (e.g. Wat Bo, Wat Damnak Wat, Preah Prom Rath), the Royal Gardens with hundreds of bats living in its trees, Old Market and more.
• Explore the hidden and secluded temple group of Angkor, the Rulous Group consisting of Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko, an ancient and peaceful area away from the crowds. (Angkor Pass required, ideal for 3-Day Pass holders).

Your journey to the floating village starts:

After the cultural activities, you’ll drive around 1 hour and approx. 35km / 20mi through the cambodian countryside (with an optional stop at a rice paddy field) to the boat pier of Kampong Pluk, a compound of three small fishing villages located at the Tahas river in the floodplain of Tonle Sap lake.

The wooden stilt houses of the floating village

We embark on a private wooden boat to explore the floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. This picturesque environment reveals the authentic village lifestyle of local fishermen. The village’s wooden houses are perched on tall stilts in the water, surrounded by lush mangrove forests. During the boat ride, you’ll observe children using makeshift floats and women washing clothes by the water. The slow-paced boat ride offers a glimpse into rural life in Cambodia, providing a sense of tranquility and connection to the land.

Lunch break:

You have the freedom to choose your preferred lunch spot. Our guide will offer suggestions based on your tastes, ensuring a delightful dining experience without the influence of commission-based decisions.

The tour continues to the flooded mangrove forests where you have to change to a smaller boat because of the dense forest. Reach the inundated forest and continue with a pirogue through the magnificent flooded trees. A local will steer the small paddling boat through this fairy tale like environment which is natural habitat of numerous wild birds and other species. During a 20 minutes long ride accompanied by birds sounds and the light water noise you can relax and enjoy the nature.

Back on our motor boat we soon reach the Tonle Sap lake where you can get a glimpse of fisherman’s daily life, embracing the centuries old fishing tradition. In the wet season Tonle Sap is Asia’s largest fresh water lake with around 13.000 sqaure km / 5000 square miles while in the dry season it has only 2500 square km / 1000 square miles. The lake is a source of life for Cambodia with more the 200 species of fish and the big fresh water reserve. Enjoy the dawn over the lake and get ready to drive back to Siem Reap.

Drop-off at the hotel

Our driver will bring you back to the hotel after an exciting day filled with great mememories.